The Importance
by Tarnished Secret
Summary: Elysia Hughes has been shifted from home to home ever since her mother committed suicide, but when she finds herself in the hands of someone from her past, will she be able to rise to the occasion?
1. Chapter 1

Elysia swung her legs out and back, sitting in an uncomfortable chair in a dusty office. Today was the "end of her worries", as all the adults told her, but she knew better. In her short life-span of twelve years, Elysia had learned a lot about the damned foster care system. She knew that she would be sent to this house and shipped out again in at least five months. That was her record: five months in one home. And that was only because she was grounded for all five months.

Being grounded wasn't that bad for her, though. She stopped going to school when she was ten, so she knew the basics, but she wasn't a genius. When she was grounded for five months, she merely found a pencil in the corners of her room and wrote on the walls. No one came to check on her, only shoved food in through the door, so she wrote and wrote.

Of course, when her sentence was over, the high-strung "mom" walked in and almost had a seizure to see her walls covered with untidy writing, which Elysia was illustrating, after finishing the story a week before. That was the end of that foster home. Elysia would have pleaded to get out, anyway. She had been grounded the day after moving in for touching one of "Mom's" apparently priceless things wrong.

Yep, that was two foster homes ago. Elysia had lost count of how many she's been to, but really, what does it matter when you'll be adding three more every week?

She wasn't a **bad** kid; she was quiet and some people thought that meant rude. When she did talk, she didn't expose much of herself, and when she did she was often witty and clever, which meant she was classified as stuck-up, or mean. She didn't bother telling anybody anything; telling leads to hearing, and hearing leads to knowing, and knowing leads to getting attached.

But maybe, Elysia's imagination told her, just maybe, this house could be the one that stays.

A middle-aged guy walked into the office, chatting pleasantly with the receptionist. He was tall, with shaggish blonde hair and bright blue eyes. _He doesn't look **too** bad,_ Elysia thought. _He must be here for that five-year old down the hall. He's just been married, and he and his wife thought they'd by-pass all the annoying baby years and instead take care of a five-year old. How stupid; five-year old's are pains in the asses. _She twined a lock of light brown hair between her fingers, looking the picture of obvious boredom with green eyes staring at the ceiling.

The receptionist left to go find someone; probably the five-year old's agent. The guy talking to her turned around from the desk and--_Dammit!_--sat down next to Elysia.

"Hey," he offered, holding out his hand. Elysia hesitated before taking it and shaking it briskly.

"Hi."

"My name's William, what's yours?"

"...Elysia..." This guy was much too nice for his own good.

"Hello, Elysia."

"What are you in here for?" She asked, curiosity overcoming her.

"I'm here to pick up a kid, of course. Surely you guessed that." He raised his eyebrow at her.

"Well, yeah, but what type of kid?" Elysia recoiled. He was more clever then her? Not good; she must be slipping.

"A girl, hopefully, although my wife and I aren't picky. We've been married for a year, see." _Damn, I was wrong about that, although he could still want a five-year old. _

"What age?" Elysia asked before she could stop herself, even though she was going to end the conversation right then.

"Eleven, twelve." William looked at her with his clear blue eyes. "You're..."

Thinking about lying, Elysia's mouth refused. "I'm twelve." She looked back at the ceiling. This guy was really too nice.

"Hm," He nodded, looking as the receptionist entered the room again with Elysia's agent.

"I see you've already met her!" The receptionist smiled. Elysia's mouth hung open.

"Yep!" William smiled as well. "Do you have the paperwork?"

---

I've got big plans for this story, so bear with me.

Yes, alchemy is involved, but it's late-coming. And I'm shocked, I managed to start a multi-chapter fiction! Hopefully I can stick with it instead of leaving it in the middle. u.u

Review please!


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm sorry that my wife couldn't come to pick you up," William apologized, carrying Elysia's bags to the car. "She's an alchemist for the State, but not a State Alchemist... I'm sure she'd be glad to explain to you later. Anyway, she was called by Colonel Havoc this morning." The name stirred something deep in Elysia's memory; she shook her head and got into the car.

Ten minutes later they pulled up in front of a quiet house painted light blue in a small neighborhood. Walking onto the porch, Elysia saw a white wicker chair with a slim tabby cat sleeping on it. "That's Rascal," William introduced, coming up behind her with her luggage. "He's really sweet when he wants to be... You're pretty lucky to see him sleeping; he's normally awake and raring to go." As William finished, the cat opened one bright yellow eye, stood up and stretched. Elysia leaned forward and rubbed the top of his head, much to his delight.

While Elysia murmured to the cat, William inserted his key into the door and swung it open. "Hello!" He called.

"I thought you said your wife was at work," Elysia said suspiciously, coming up behind him.

"She would have been back by now," He explained, walking in. The entry hall, Elysia saw, led to a spacious room, painted with reds and golds. A brown-haired woman was half lying-half sitting on a golden couch in the middle of the room, petting a black and gold cat.

"Hey, Kailen," William greeted her. He leaned over and picked the cat off of her stomach so she could sit up, then gave it back to her when she had.

"Hello," Elysia remembered to say. She had immersed herself in looking around the house.

"You are...?" Kailen asked, staring at Elysia intriguingly, as if trying to decide what species she was.

"Elysia..." She answered, staring right back at Kailen's clear brown eyes. William rolled his eyes at their strange behavior and walked into the adjoining kitchen.

"You're both odd," He called back. Kailen snorted with laughter.

"Please, William, she's no weirder then me; that's impossible."

"Right you are," He yelled back over the noise of cats mewing as he fed them.

"Shut up," Kailen whined, standing up and stretching her arms above her head. Elysia looked from the closed kitchen door to her and back again. _What weirdos_, she thought. Kailen finished stretching and fell back onto the couch, patting the area next to her. Elysia obliged with the un-asked question and sat down.

"So, tell me your name, age, and a little bit about yourself," Kailen started. "And don't worry; I'll do the same, that's only fair." Elysia smiled a little. Kailen acted a lot like a twelve-year old.

"Well, I already told you my name's Elysia, but my last name is Hughes... I'm twelve, and there's not that much to say about me."

"Of course there is!" Kailen protested. "You're a foster kid; what happened to your parents?" Elysia blinked, surprised that she had touched upon such a sensitive subject so quickly and blatantly.

"My dad died in the military, and my mom committed suicide because of it." Kailen nodded, and Elysia felt a little upset that she hadn't taken it more seriously.

"Well, my name's Kailen Wilson and William's is... William Wilson... He's thirty-one and I'm twenty-nine... He works as a librarian in the State Alchemist library and I'm an alchemist for the State. Unfortunately those sexist bastards wouldn't let me become a State Alchemist, but I wouldn't want to anyway. I don't really fancy the idea of war." Kailen pulled her hair back with a rubber band on her wrist, then continued talking. "Me and William--"  
"William and I!" He shouted from the kitchen.

"Fine, fine, **William and I**," She glared at the kitchen door pointedly, "Have been good friends for a good... fifteen years, and we got married last year."

"Why did you want a foster kid?" Elysia asked, absentmindedly petting the gold and black cat, which had returned from eating dinner.

"Because little kids suck. All they do is whine and fuss and crap and cry." Kailen said with a straight face. William walked into the room at that moment, shaking his head.

"I grew up in a big family--youngest in a family of eight--and I wanted kids, and she didn't want babies..." He sighed, disappointed. "I suppose it makes sense, and I'm glad that we ended up with you, Elysia, but I still wanted a little one."

"Trust me," Kailen glared at him, "No, you don't."

"I agree with her," Elysia added, causing William to laugh.

"Well, anyway, we're very glad we get to have you, Elysia... What do you like for dinner? You might as well tell a wall if you were going to tell Kailen, she cooks like she thinks: not at all."

"Ooh, somebody's just begging to have a fire lit in their bookcase."

"You wouldn't."

"Try me." Elysia's eyes went back and forth as the playful argument went on, and she really thought for the first time that she might end up staying here.

And stay she did.

For four more years, at least.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Elysia!" Kailen yelled from somewhere downstairs. "Come down, would you? One of our old friends is here!" Elysia drew one last line on her latest masterpiece and backed up to admire it. Her room was upstairs, next to Kailen and William's, and the walls were a light green. However, her new parents had agreed to let her write on the walls whenever she wanted to, and after four years the walls were covered in black poetry, stories, and sometimes just squiggles that she felt like drawing. She had also begun on the ceiling by writing some of her favorite quotes from the books in William's gigantic library, or some of the random ones that Kailen spouted off every few moments.

"Coming!" She called down. She capped her pen and put it away in a little blue box that William had made her, re-did her long brown ponytail, and smiled at herself in a mirror before walking downstairs to the red and gold family room.

The door to the kitchen was open, and she could see a flash of the blue and silver that it was decorated with, as well as smell some of whatever William was cooking. Kailen and a strange dark-blonde-haired man were talking like old friends on the couch where Elysia had first seen her so long ago. She stopped at the head of the stairs, able to see them but unable to be seen to scope out the newcomer. His hair was tied in a long ponytail, like hers, and she couldn't see how long it was because the back of the couch blocked it. His clothes were black and red, and she couldn't tell his eye colour from here.

_Ah, well, he doesn't look **too** bad,_ She thought, and walked downstairs.

Kailen and the new guy stood up when they saw her come in. Strangely, the man smiled sadly and fondly as if he already knew her.

"Hello, Elysia," He greeted her warmly, holding out his hand for her to shake. "My name is Alphonse."

**Wanna know something funny? William is one-of-my-best-friend's name, and he agreed to be in the story. XD Don't tell him, but Kailen's my alternate personality. XP He'd freak. **

**Thanks to:**

**Majora's spawn, PatrioticPuppy, Sin of Otaku, and La El Frencheeee(WTF?) for reviewing so kindly! **


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